1–2 Timothy, Titus

David W. Pao (PhD, Harvard University), is Academic Dean and Professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. His publications include Acts and the Isaianic New Exodus, Thanksgiving: An Investigation of a Pauline Theme, Early Christian Voices: In Texts, Traditions, and Symbols (eds.), Commentary on the Gospel of Luke, and Colossians and Philemon.

• Author’s PrefaceIntroduction1 Unity of the Pastoral Epistles2 Early Reception of the Pastoral Epistles3 Authorship4 Historical Setting5 Genre6 Purpose7 OutlineIntroduction BibliographyGeneral BibliographyGrammatical Analysis Short Titles1 TimothyI Opening Salutation 1:1–2II Danger of the False Teachers 1:3–20III Worship of God the Savior of All 2:1–15IV Household of God as the Bulwark of the Truth 3:1–16V False Teachers and Their Deception 4:1–16VI Needs of Different Groups in the Church 5:1–6:2aVII False teachers and Their Use of Wealth 6:2b–19VIII Final Words to Timothy 6:20–21TitusI Opening Salutation 1:1–4II In Response to the False Teachers 1:5–16III Responsibilities of Household Members 2:1–15IV Responsibilities of Believers to the Wider Society 3:1–11V Final Words to Titus 3:12–152 TimothyI Opening Salutation 1:1–2II Thanksgiving 1:3–5III Call to Timothy to Be Faithful 1:6–18IV Call to Timothy to Be Committed 2:1–26V Living in the Last Days 3:1–4:8VI Human Desertion and Divine Presence 4:9–18VII Final Word to Timothy 4:19–22Index

In turning to evaluation, Pao has written a magnificent commentary, one that must now be reckoned with in any study on the [Pastoral Epistles]. The exegetical decisions throughout are reasoned, learned, and well-informed by the secondary literature. Strengths include the way Pao runs his “subversion and accommodation” lens throughout the text, demonstrating how the author of the PE navigates Roman imperial culture by accommodating to it when possible without compromise but then also by subverting it when essential for the preservation of the gospel and the identity of the church as the household of God. Pao's volume is also among the first major commentaries in English on the PE to incorporate consistently the insights of modern linguistics into his exegetical conclusions, including the latest discussions on verbal aspect and the middle voice.– Christopher A. Beetham, Theologische Literaturzeitung 150/4, April 2025.